What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?

By Clement Harrold

Engraving by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (March 26, 1794 - May 24, 1872)

From its earliest days, the Church has rejected abortion as a grave evil. The Didache is one example of an extremely early Christian document testifying to this tradition. Probably written around the year 70 A.D. (although arguably as early as the 40s A.D.), the Didache offers a list of moral crimes which Christians are to avoid:

You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is born. (Didache, 2)

Despite this clear condemnation, it is sometimes pointed out that the Bible itself is silent about abortion. Although the Scriptures speak clearly to the value of having children and raising families (see Gen 1:22 and 28; Ps 127:3), nowhere do they explicitly describe or denounce the practice of abortion.

Of course, the fact that the Bible doesn’t condemn abortion explicitly doesn’t say anything about whether abortion is permissible. The Bible also never condemns cannibalism, but that doesn’t make cannibalism okay! As we shall see, moreover, even though the Bible doesn’t address abortion directly, it does still provide a robust framework for regarding abortion as a serious offense against God and man.

The Bible and Abortion

At the heart of the Bible’s understanding of the human person is its declaration that human beings are created in God’s image and likeness: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27; cf. 5:1-2).

Applying what we know from modern biology, it is obvious that unborn children must also exist in the image and likeness of God. From the moment of conception, unborn children are already male or female; they already have their own unique DNA; they already exist as a unique human organism, distinct from their mother; and by virtue of being alive, they already possess an eternal human soul (see Jas 2:26).

The humanity of the unborn is also alluded to across the Old Testament:

  • “And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her” (Gen 25:21-22)
  • “Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?” (Job 31:15)
  • “Yet thou art he who took me from the womb; thou didst keep me safe upon my mother’s breasts . . . and since my mother bore me thou hast been my God” (Ps 22:9-10)
  • “For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13)
  • “Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you” (Is 44:2)
  • “The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name” (Is 49:1)
  • “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5)

In the New Testament, we find a continuation of these themes when St. Paul proclaims to the Galatians: “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace” (Gal 1:15).

Finally, we shouldn’t forget how St. John the Baptist leaped for joy in his mother’s womb when Mary came to visit Elizabeth (see Lk 1:41). Mere bundles of cells don’t leap for joy! It makes perfect sense, therefore, that the Greek word St. Luke uses to describe the baby in Elizabeth’s womb (brephos) is the same word he uses later on in his Gospel to refer to children who are already born (see Lk 18:15).

The Bible vs. the World

The clear implication of the Bible’s teaching is that unborn children are just as deserving of protection as adult human beings: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image” (Gen 9:6). Abortion is a horrible crime precisely because it sheds the blood of a unique human being made in God’s own image.

Here we see the profound difference that biblical faith makes in the moral life of a culture and of a nation. In our post-Christian society, the value of unborn children depends entirely on whether or not they are wanted. If a couple who has been desperately trying to conceive finally get pregnant, then their unborn child is considered a gift and a blessing. The child is loved and wanted and referred to as a baby; and if someone were to commit an act of violence against the child in the mother’s womb, everyone would consider it a horrific crime.

Yet the situation is very different when the couple conceives an unwanted child. On this occasion, the child is considered deserving of no celebration, no respect, no protection. The child is dehumanized—referred to only as an embryo, a fetus, or a bundle of cells—and our society says the parents have the right to butcher their child using the most effective means possible.

From the biblical perspective, this double standard whereby the lives of the unborn receive their value solely based on the whims of selfish adults is categorically wrong. For Jews and Christians, all human beings have value and dignity: not because they just so happen to be wanted by their parents, but because they have been created in the image and likeness of God.

Abortion and God’s Forgiveness

Taken in its entirety, the Bible makes it quite clear that unborn children are human beings cherished by God, and by implication, that abortion is a grave sin. At the same time, the Bible is emphatic that sinners are also cherished by God, and the path of repentance remains open to them throughout this life:

But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation. (Rom 5:8-11)

Through His saving death on the Cross, Jesus offers us the path to reconciliation with God, even when we have fallen into serious sin. No doubt abortion is a great offense both against the dignity of the human person and against the God in whose image every human being is created. Nevertheless, we should remember that God’s mercy is always greater than our sin.

Hence even if we have been involved in an abortion in some way, we should never despair of receiving God’s forgiveness. For He assures us through His Word that if we are truly sorry for what we have done, and if we seek out His grace through the sacraments of His Church, then we will find healing and peace.

Further Reading

Michael J. Gorman, Abortion and the Early Church: Christian, Jewish and Pagan Attitudes in the Greco-Roman World (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1998)

Calum Miller, “Why Biblical Arguments for Abortion Fail,” Christian bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality, Volume 29, Issue 1, March 2023, Pages 11–20, https://doi.org/10.1093/cb/cbad004

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/55398/the-bibles-teaching-against-abortion

Clement Harrold earned his master’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2024, and his bachelor’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2021. His writings have appeared in First ThingsChurch Life JournalCrisis Magazine, and the Washington Examiner.

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